1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shaping station in a metal wire shaping machine.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
The word metal wire is a generic term professionally used, which means a wire proper as well as a bar or a tube.
A numerically controlled shaping sequence machine carries out various shaping operations on a wire, such as for example cambering, bending, etc . . . and includes various stations successively gone through by the wire.
The wire travels from a feed station which feeds the wire to a shaping station where it is bent and shaped by tools.
Such a machine can make three-dimension parts by sequential or successive bendings along different planes.
The prior art knows two configurations of shaping stations, i.e. those which execute the changes in planes between two successive bendings by the relative rotation of the wire with respect to stationary bending tools, and those which execute the changes in planes by placing the bending tools and the actuators thereof on an arm rotating about the wire stationary axis.
In the first configuration, when and as the part is shaped and thus gains in volume and weight, the wire orientation speed must be slowed down to limit the effects of inertia on the part and not degrade the capability on the angles between two bending planes.
In the second configuration, the problem arises of integrating the actuator and the energy on the rotation arm, which imposes high inertia from the rotating part and requires the implementation of expensive and sensitive components for the connexion to energy: rotating electric collectors, pneumatic or hydraulic rotating seals, etc . . .
The applicant's aim is to solve such problems resulting from the second configuration.